Mark L. Stout Consulting is an all-purpose transportation consulting firm, specializing in finance, program management, and legislative and DOT policy. Our company has served public agencies and non-profits, big and small, all across the nation. Mark is widely-recognized as an expert whose years of experience can help organizations to break through gridlock and deliver transformative projects and innovative community enhancements.

Mark L. Stout Consulting

Monday, July 28, 2014

Washington’s Silver Line Open for Business!

New metro lines don’t open very often in this country, so
it’s exciting to have a major addition to one of our most successful
systems.The Washington Metro
Silver Line started revenue service on Saturday, with its first weekday
operation today (story here).The
route runs through suburban Virginia, linking up with the existing Orange Line
to carry passengers into Washington DC.Ultimately the Silver Line will reach all the way to Dulles Airport (the
older, closer-in Reagan National already has a Metro stop) but the big
achievement for this segment is bringing rapid transit to Tysons Corner, a
massive complex of shopping malls and suburban sprawl.Both the developers and planners have
decided that Tysons Corner needs to have a new lease on life – more mixed-use
and more transit accessible.If it
works, this could be an iconic turnaround (watch for upcoming Norristown High
Speed Line access to the King of Prussia mall complex in suburban Philadelphia
in a few years).

There are some unresolved issues with the Silver Line.Some of the stations are plunked into
low-density areas that need a lot of work before they reach anything like the
concentration we see at Ballston or Bethesda or Silver Spring.More critically, at a system level, the
Silver Line essentially serves as a branch of the Orange Line.Not a problem for most Orange Line
riders, but those beyond East Falls Church will find service drastically
reduced.The long-term solution
(hopefully medium-term) is a new tunnel under the Potomac, bringing more
capacity to the core area and relieving congestion on the Orange and Silver
lines (see Greater Greater Washington’s story on the proposed “loop” line
here.)

Congratulations to Rich Sarles and company for (so far) a
smooth rollout of a major Metro line!